On Sunday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D-Chicago) signed into law House Bill 1189 (sponsored by State Representative Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside) and State Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago)), the “Gun Safety and Responsibility Act,” requiring firearm owners in the state to report missing firearms to police and initiate background checks on potential buyers.

Mitch Smith reported on the Chicago Tribune website Monday morning:

Starting immediately, gun owners whose weapons are lost or stolen will have 72 hours to notify police. And beginning Jan. 1, individual gun owners will have to contact the Illinois State Police before selling a weapon or transferring ownership to ensure that the purchaser is allowed to have a gun.

Quinn said the legislation closes a loophole in the state’s gun laws, which previously required gun show merchants and licensed firearms dealers — but not private sellers — to check that the customer had a valid firearm owner’s identification card. Under the new law, private sellers must contact state police, who will then search records and determine the prospective buyer’s eligibility.

Besides contacting the Illinois State Police for a background check on potential buyers beginning next year, those transferring/selling a gun will be required to do some recordkeeping on behalf of the law enforcement agency once the handover is complete. From the bill’s text:

(b) Any person within this State who transfers or causes to be transferred any firearm, stun gun, or taser shall keep a record of such transfer for a period of 10 years from the date of transfer. Such record shall contain the date of the transfer; the description, serial number or other information identifying the firearm, stun gun, or taser if no serial number is available; and, if the transfer was completed within this State, the transferee’s Firearm Owner’s Identification Card number and any approval number or documentation provided by the Department of State Police pursuant to subsection (a-10) of this Section. On or after January 1, 2006, the record shall contain the date of application for transfer of the firearm. On demand of a peace officer such transferor shall produce for inspection such record of transfer. If the transfer or sale took place at a gun show, the record shall include the unique identification number. Failure to record the unique identification number or approval number is a petty offense.

And what happens to firearms owners in the state if they fail to report the theft of their guns within the allotted 72 hours? The “Gun Safety and Responsibility Act” says:

Sec. 24-4.1. Report of lost or stolen firearms…

(d) Sentence. A person who violates this Section is guilty of a petty offense for a first violation. A second or subsequent violation of this Section is a Class A misdemeanor.

I don’t know about you, but something tells me this new gun “control” law isn’t going to do much to stem the shooting and killing going on in Chicagoland and elsewhere in the “Land of Lincoln” these days.

Why’s that? Because the jokers behind the shooting and killing don’t exactly acquire their firearms through “normal” channels on a routine basis.

If the shooters aren’t bringing the “five-finger discount” into play to get their guns, their street suppliers certainly don’t give a rat’s butt about FOID cards and “the prospective buyer’s eligibility.”

You can read the entire text of the “Gun Safety and Responsibility Act” on the Illinois General Assembly website here.

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